Master of Electrical Engineering (MEE) Degree

Program Learning Outcomes for the MEE Degree

Upon completing the MEE degree, students will be able to:

  1. Apply the principles of mathematics and science necessary to solve advanced electrical engineering problems.
  2. Practice at an advanced level in at least one of the major sub-fields of electrical engineering.

Requirements for the MEE Degree

The MEE degree is a non-thesis master's degree. For general university requirements, please see Non-Thesis Master's Degrees. For additional requirements, regulations, and procedures for all graduate programs, please see All Graduate Students. Students pursuing the MEE degree must complete:

  • A minimum of 10 courses (30 credit hours) to satisfy degree requirements.
  • A minimum of 30 credit hours of graduate-level study (coursework at the 500-level or above). 
  • A minimum of 27 credit hours must be taken at Rice University.
  • A minimum residency enrollment of one fall or spring semester of part-time graduate study at Rice University.
  • A minimum of 3 courses (9 credit hours) from the core requirements.  
  • The requirements for one area of specialization (see below for areas of specialization). The MEE degree program offers five areas of specialization, or focus areas:
  • A minimum of 4 courses (12 credit hours) from the elective requirements:
    • 2 courses (6 credit hours) from the General MEE requirement  
    • 2 courses (6 credit hours) from the Free Elective requirement.
  • ELEC 698 each semester in residence at Rice University. 
  • A maximum of 1 course (3 credit hours) of graduate-level coursework as transfer credit. For additional departmental guidelines regarding transfer credit, see the Policies tab. 
  • A minimum overall GPA of 2.67.
  • A minimum GPA of 3.00 in required coursework with a minimum grade of C (2.00 grade points) in each course.

Students are admitted to the MEE degree program in the fall semester. MEE students are to consult with an academic advisor on the MEE Committee each semester in order to identify and clearly document their individual curricular requirements or degree plan to be followed. An MEE degree planning form and current requirements may be found on the ECE website.

The courses listed below satisfy the requirements for this degree program. In certain instances, courses not on this official list may be substituted upon approval of the program's academic advisor, or where applicable, the department or program's Director of Graduate Studies. (Course substitutions must be formally applied and entered into Degree Works by the department or program's Official Certifier.) Students and their academic advisors should identify and clearly document the courses to be taken.

Summary

Total Credit Hours Required for the MEE Degree30

Degree Requirements

Core Requirements
Select 3 from the following:9-11
ELEC 526 / COMP 526
HIGH PERFORMANCE COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE
ELEC 533 / CAAM 583 / STAT 583
INTRODUCTION TO RANDOM PROCESSES AND APPLICATIONS
ELEC 537 / MECH 537
COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
ELEC 546 / COMP 546
INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER VISION
ELEC 548 / BIOE 548
MACHINE LEARNING AND SIGNAL PROCESSING FOR NEURO ENGINEERING
ELEC 551
DIGITAL COMMUNICATION
ELEC 553
MOBILE AND EMBEDDED SYSTEM DESIGN AND APPLICATION
ELEC 558
DIGITAL SIGNAL PROCESSING
ELEC 563 / PHYS 563
INTRODUCTION TO SOLID STATE PHYSICS I
ELEC 568
LASER SPECTROSCOPY
ELEC 575
LEARNING FROM SENSOR DATA
ELEC 584
FUNDAMENTALS OF HUMAN NEUROIMAGING
Area of Specialization
Select 1 of the following Areas of Specialization (see Areas of Specialization below):8-11
Computer Engineering
Data Science
Neuroengineering
Photonics, Electronics, and Nano-devices
Systems
Elective Requirements
General MEE Requirement: select 2 additional courses from any of the courses that qualify as Core Requirement courses or that fulfill any of the Areas of Specialization6
Free Elective Requirement: select 2 additional courses as free electives 16
Professional Master's Seminar
ELEC 698ECE PROFESSIONAL MASTERS SEMINAR SERIES (required each semester in-residence at Rice University, credit hours earned do not apply towards degree requirements) 21
Total Credit Hours30

 Footnotes and Additional Information

Areas of Specialization

Students must complete a minimum of 3 courses (9 credit hours) from one Area of Specialization and may select up to 2 additional courses (6 credit hours) from any Area of Specialization (or from the Core Requirements) to fulfill Elective Requirements.  

Area of Specialization: Computer Engineering 

Select 3 from the following:9-11
ELEC 513 / COMP 513
COMPLEXITY IN MODERN SYSTEMS
ELEC 521
ADVANCED DIGITAL INTEGRATED CIRCUITS DESIGN
ELEC 522
ADVANCED VLSI DESIGN
ELEC 526 / COMP 526
HIGH PERFORMANCE COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE
ELEC 527
VLSI SYSTEMS DESIGN
ELEC 553
MOBILE AND EMBEDDED SYSTEM DESIGN AND APPLICATION
ELEC 554 / COMP 554
COMPUTER SYSTEMS ARCHITECTURE
Total Credit Hours9-11

Area of Specialization: Data Science

Select 3 from the following:9-10
ELEC 502 / COMP 502 / STAT 502
NEURAL MACHINE LEARNING I
or COMP 540
 STATISTICAL MACHINE LEARNING
ELEC 531
STATISTICAL SIGNAL PROCESSING
ELEC 533 / CAAM 583 / STAT 583
INTRODUCTION TO RANDOM PROCESSES AND APPLICATIONS
ELEC 535
INFORMATION THEORY
ELEC 546 / COMP 546
INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER VISION
ELEC 558
DIGITAL SIGNAL PROCESSING
ELEC 575
LEARNING FROM SENSOR DATA
ELEC 576 / COMP 576
A PRACTICAL INTRODUCTION TO DEEP MACHINE LEARNING
ELEC 578
INTRODUCTION TO MACHINE LEARNING
ELEC 631
ADVANCED TOPICS IN SIGNAL PROCESSING AND MACHINE LEARNING
Total Credit Hours9-10

Area of Specialization: Neuroengineering 

Select 3 from the following:9-10
ELEC 502 / COMP 502 / STAT 502
NEURAL MACHINE LEARNING I
ELEC 533 / CAAM 583 / STAT 583
INTRODUCTION TO RANDOM PROCESSES AND APPLICATIONS
ELEC 548 / BIOE 548
MACHINE LEARNING AND SIGNAL PROCESSING FOR NEURO ENGINEERING
ELEC 584
FUNDAMENTALS OF HUMAN NEUROIMAGING
ELEC 585 / BIOE 591
FUNDAMENTALS OF MEDICAL IMAGING I
ELEC 588 / CAAM 615 / NEUR 615
THEORETICAL NEUROSCIENCE I: BIOPHYSICAL MODELING OF CELLS AND CIRCUITS
ELEC 589
NEURAL COMPUTATION
ELEC 680 / BIOE 680
NANO-NEUROTECHNOLOGY
NEUR 582
INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTATIONAL NEURSCIENCE
Total Credit Hours9-10

Area of Specialization: Photonics, Electronics, and Nano-devices

Select 3 from the following:8-9
ELEC 560
PHYSICS OF SENSOR MATERIALS AND NANOSENSOR TECHNOLOGY
ELEC 562
OPTOELECTRONIC DEVICES
ELEC 563 / PHYS 563
INTRODUCTION TO SOLID STATE PHYSICS I
ELEC 567
NANO-OPTICS
ELEC 568
LASER SPECTROSCOPY
ELEC 569 / PHYS 569
ULTRAFAST OPTICAL PHENOMENA
ELEC 571
IMAGING AT THE NANOSCALE
ELEC 603
TOPICS IN NANOPHOTONICS
ELEC 605 / PHYS 605
COMPUTATIONAL ELECTRODYNAMICS AND NANOPHOTONICS
Total Credit Hours8-9

Area of Specialization: Systems 

Select 3 from the following:9
ELEC 531
STATISTICAL SIGNAL PROCESSING
ELEC 533 / CAAM 583 / STAT 583
INTRODUCTION TO RANDOM PROCESSES AND APPLICATIONS
ELEC 535
INFORMATION THEORY
ELEC 537 / MECH 537
COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
ELEC 539
INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
ELEC 542
THE APPLICATION OF VECTOR SPACE METHODS AND OTHER ADVANCED TECHNIQUES TO DSP
ELEC 546 / COMP 546
INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER VISION
ELEC 547
COMPUTER VISION
ELEC 549
COMPUTATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY
ELEC 551
DIGITAL COMMUNICATION
ELEC 558
DIGITAL SIGNAL PROCESSING
Total Credit Hours9

Policies for the MEE Degree

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Graduate Program Handbook

The General Announcements (GA) is the official Rice curriculum. As an additional resource for students, the department of Electrical and Computer Engineering publishes a graduate program handbook, which can be found here: 
http://gradhandbooks.rice.edu/2018_19/Electrical_Computer_Engineering_MME_Handbook.pdf

Transfer Credit 

For Rice University’s policy regarding transfer credit, see Transfer Credit. Some departments and programs have additional restrictions on transfer credit. Students are encouraged to meet with their academic program’s advisor when considering transfer credit possibilities.

Departmental Transfer Credit Guidelines

Students pursuing the MEE degree in the field of Electrical and Computer Engineering should be aware of the following departmental transfer credit guidelines:

  • No more than 1 course (3 credit hours) of transfer credit from U.S. or international universities of similar standing as Rice may apply towards the degree.
  • Requests for transfer credit will be considered by the program director (and/or the program’s official transfer credit advisor) on an individual case-by-case basis.

Additional Information 

For additional information, please see the Electrical and Computer Engineering website: https://www.ece.rice.edu/

Opportunities for the MEE Degree 

Fifth-Year Master's Degree Option for Rice Undergraduate Students 

Rice students have an option to pursue the Master of Electrical Engineering (MEE) degree by adding an additional fifth year to their four undergraduate years of science and engineering studies.

Advanced Rice undergraduate students in good academic standing may apply to the MEE degree program during their junior or senior year. Upon acceptance, depending on course load, financial aid status, and other variables, they may then start taking some required courses of the master's degree program. A plan of study will need to be approved by the student's undergraduate advisor and the MEE program director. 

As part of this option and opportunity, Rice undergraduate students:

  • must complete the requirements for a bachelor's degree and the master's degree independently of each other (i.e. no course may be counted toward the fulfillment of both degrees).
  • should be aware there could be financial aid implications if the conversion of undergraduate coursework to that of graduate level reduces their earned undergraduate credit for any semester below that of full-time status (12 credit hours).
  • more information on this Undergraduate - Graduate Concurrent Enrollment opportunity, including specific information on the registration process can be found here.

Additional Information 

For additional information, please see the Electrical and Computer Engineering website: https://www.ece.rice.edu/